I am honestly wondering why BIAB? I have been a rubbermaid cooler all-grain brewer for a few years now. I never heard of BIAB before I bought the coolers. But reading the sticky (which looks new) I just can't help but think that for the cost of that fancy Blichmann kettle you coulda got a basic cooler setup.

Well, personally I don't have a fancy Blichmann kettle. I have the 4 gal pot I've always had as an extract brewer.

So 5 bucks for 2 paint strainer bags is much cheaper than 50 bucks for a cooler.

__________________Caspean Ales and Cider

“There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says, ‘Good People Drink Good Beer.’ Which is true, then as it is now. Just look around you in a public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad People Drink Bad Beer. Think about it.”-- Hunter S. Thompson,

“There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says, ‘Good People Drink Good Beer.’ Which is true, then as it is now. Just look around you in a public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad People Drink Bad Beer. Think about it.”-- Hunter S. Thompson,

Biggest reason for me was i wanted to start brewing all grain without investing a lot of time and money for equipment. I've done 6-8 batches now and i think the process is fine. It would probably be a touch easier on brew day to go the traditional route with a MLT, but i just haven't felt like investing time and funds to build one. So I'll probably stick with BIAB for a while b/c it makes good beer. And no stuck sparges!

I just did my first BIAB last weekend (Centennial Blond) and it was very easy to do. I use a cut down 15 gal beer keg for my brew pot.
The main reason I went Biab route was I had the brew pot and the only other thing I needed was the bag. Less than $10 for the voile fabric (made 2 bags) and I was ready to go.

Less equipment. Simple set-up. Less space. It works. Although, I think the number one reason people BIAB is simply because they want to. Isn't that the common thread with all of the madness on this site?